"World leaders should tackle poverty and protect the people"- Ban Ki-Moon

Ban Ki-Moon in his report at the 13th plenary meeting at 70th General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly today has told world leaders that succeeding generations depend on them to finally get their priorities right saying that suffering today is at heights not seen in a generation as one hundred million people require immediate humanitarian assistance and at least 60 million people have been forced to flee their homes or their countries.

Ban Ki-Moon asked why the world continues to squander trillions in wasteful military spending and find it easier to find the money to destroy people and planet than it is to protect them adding that reaching the sustainable development goals means organizing better and let there be no more walls or boxes; no more ministries or agencies working at cross-purposes.

“Let us move from silos to synergy, supported by data, long-term planning and a will to do things differently”, Facing a world where inequality is growing, trust is fading, and impatience with leadership can be seen and felt far and wide, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon call to “translate promises on paper to action on the ground” by backing a bold new sustainability agenda that aims to wipe out poverty and build a sustainable future for all.

“Our aim is clear. Our mission is possible. And our destination is in our sights: an end to extreme poverty by 2030; a life of peace and dignity for all,” the Secretary-General declared, noting that this session of the General Assembly had opened with a “towering achievement”: the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for, including 17 inspiring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What counts now is translating those promises on paper into real change, said the UN chief, adding: “We owe this and much more to the vulnerable, the oppressed, the displaced and the forgotten people in our world. We owe this to ‘succeeding generations,’